Biography

Brazilian politician, the former Vice-President dubbed by American journalists as "Brazil's Quayle" and later President. To show his honesty, Franco presented a list of all his personal assets to the President of the Congress before taking office as Vice-President under Fernando Collor DeMello. In January 1992 Collor's impeachment trial on corruption charges and Franco stepped into the job of President. As President he is credited with helping to get runaway inflation under control. Even after he left the office, he continued to serve in political capacities. As late as 2010 he was elected to the Brazilian Senate.

Diagnosed with leukemia he was hospitalized in May 2011; he later developed pneumonia. On July 2, 2011, he suffered a fatal stroke in a Sao Paolo, Brazil hospital.